Title: Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 States, 2007

Publication Date: May 2010

What does it say?

Nineteen states now participate in the National Violent Death Reporting System, which collects information from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, and police reports.  The states are Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin.  California participates but not yet statewide.  This report analyzes data from the 16 states that participated statewide in 2007 (i. e., no data from California, Ohio, or Michigan).

Homicides

Sixty-six percent of all murders are committed with guns.  The location of homicides (all methods) varies by gender: 73 percent of female murder victims are killed in the home, while 45 percent of men are killed in the home.  Twenty-six percent of men are killed on the street.

For homicides for which data were available (65 percent), almost 40 percent of homicides were related to an argument or conflict not related to money or property, one third were precipitated by another crime, and 20 percent were domestic violence related (note: more than one reason can apply to the same incident).  Of the homicides precipitated by another crime, in most cases the crime was in progress at the time of the incident. Thirty-seven percent were precipitated by a robbery; 23 percent by an assault.

Suicides

Fifty-one percent of suicides were committed with firearms.  Seventy-seven percent of suicides (all methods) occurred in a house or apartment.  One third of suicide victims had a crisis in the previous two weeks.

The highest rates of suicide by age group occurred among persons aged 45 to 54 years.  Historically, elderly adults have had the highest suicide rates. 

Suicide of Former or Current Military Personnel

Former or current military personnel are more likely to use a firearm to kill themselves (67 percent) than the general public (51 percent). 

Unintentional Shooting Deaths

Most unintentional shooting deaths occurred in November (18 percent), and most occurred in a house or apartment (65 percent). The most common context of the death was playing with the gun (30 percent), followed by hunting (25 percent).  Twenty-six percent thought the gun was unloaded, and 20 percent unintentionally pulled the trigger.

Legal Intervention

Of the 145 legal intervention deaths (a death in which a law enforcement officer lawfully kills a citizen), most (46 percent) were non-Hispanic whites and 35 percent were non-Hispanic blacks.  Thirty-eight percent occurred in a home, while 32 percent occurred on the street.

Homicides Followed by Suicides

Eighty percent of homicides followed by suicides were committed with guns. Women made up the majority of the homicide victims (73 percent), while men were the shooters/suicides (93 percent).  Most (75 percent) happened in a house or apartment.   In terms of stressors, 91 percent of shooters/suicides had experienced a crisis during the previous 2 weeks.

How can I use it?

Relationship problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental-health problems, and recent crises are among the primary precipitating factors of violent deaths.  Access to firearms increases the lethality of these violent interactions, making it more likely that someone will die. States with NVDRS can use the data to focus legislative solutions to save lives.  Advocates can access data from the participating states via a query tool at: http://wisqars.cdc.gov:8080/nvdrs/nvdrsDisplay.jsp

Citation

Karch, Debra; Dahlberg, Linda; Patel, Nimesh, “Surveillance for Violent Deaths - National Violent Deaths - National Violent Death Reporting System, 16 States, 2007,” MMWR, 59(SS-4) May 14, 2010: 1-50